Disease hits Kalma camp in South Darfur

The residents of the Kalma camp for the displaced in South Darfur are suffering from diarrhoea, heavy colds, severe coughing, and headaches. “Especially the children and the elderly are prone to the diseases,”, sheikh Juma  Bakhit Hamid, head of Kalma camp’s Block 8 reported to Radio Dabanga. “The diseases have been transmitted to the camp by the villagers coming from the areas south of the Ed Daein-Nyala railway. They say that they inhaled a lot of smoke when they fled the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) attacks on their villages. The shooting and the burning of their houses produced much smoke.” The sheikh also said that the newly displaced people do not receive medicines at the camp’s health centre. “The old and newly displaced are still in need of essential services, of materials to build or repair shelters, in addition to food, water, and health services.He appealed to the “UN and all those responsible to resolve this problem as soon as possible to avoid a disaster”. On 27 and 28 February, the RSF, commanded by the Sudanese security apparatus, raided more than 35 villages in the area southeast of Nyala, causing the displacement of tens of thousands of people. File photo: A displaced woman from Kalma camp on her way to fetch water (Albert González Farran/Unamid)Related: Newly displaced in South Darfur’s Kalma camp receive water; waiting for food (24 March 2014)